With increasing development of science and technology, electronic devices become more and more popular to personal users. The widely-used electronic device includes for example a computer host, a notebook computer, a mobile phone or any other appropriate portable electronic device. Moreover, a peripheral input device may be cooperatively used with the electronic device in order to enhance the operating flexibility of the electronic device. The peripheral input device includes for example a mouse device, a keyboard device or a trackball device.
As known, not only the electronic device but also the peripheral input device has a circuit board therein. Through the circuits and electronic components on the circuit board, the electronic device or the peripheral input device can be normally operated. Generally, in the fabrication of the electronic device or the peripheral input device, a testing method should be performed to realize whether the functions of the electronic device or the peripheral input device are normal or not. The testing method comprises a procedure of testing the circuit board before the electronic device or the peripheral input device is assembled and a procedure of testing the overall functions of the assembled electronic device or the assembled peripheral input device. By testing the circuit board, the manufacturer may realize whether any defects are present in the circuit board before the electronic device or the peripheral input device is assembled. If the procedure of testing the circuit board is not done and some defects are found after the electronic device or the peripheral input device is assembled, the manufacturer needs to disassemble the electronic device or the peripheral input device to debug the circuit board. It is time-consuming to disassemble the electronic device or the peripheral input device and debug the circuit board.
Generally, the method of testing the circuit board includes a static testing procedure and a dynamic testing procedure. The static testing procedure is a power-off testing procedure. In the power-off testing procedure, the electronic components on the circuit board are tested by interrupting the power to the circuit board. The electronic components are for example inductors, capacitors, resistors or any other electronic components with resistances. The dynamic testing procedure is a power-on testing procedure. In the power-on testing procedure, the functions of the electronic components on the circuit board are tested by providing the power to the circuit board.
In the static testing procedure of the circuit board, a contact probe of an electricity meter is used to sequentially measure the plural electronic components on the circuit board. In other words, the static testing procedure is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. After the circuit board is manually tested for a long time, the tester may feel tired. Consequently, the electronic components may be repeatedly measured, or the contact probe may fail to be accurately contacted with the electronic components to result in erroneous judgment. In other words, the conventional manual testing method is time-consuming, labor-intensive and prone to erroneous judgment.
The dynamic testing procedure of the circuit board is a power-on testing procedure. After the circuit board is powered on, the functions of the circuit board are tested. A conventional dynamic testing procedure will be illustrated as follows. Firstly, the circuit board is connected with the computer system by the tester. Consequently, the circuit board is powered on, and the circuit board is in communication with the computer system. In addition, the device information (including the identification information and the specification information) of the computer system and the circuit board may be exchanged between each other. After the circuit board is identified by the computer system, a contact probe of an electricity meter may be used to sequentially measure the voltage values of the electronic components on the circuit board. By judging whether the measured voltage values comply with a default range, the tester may determine whether the circuit board passes the test. The problems of the conventional manual dynamic testing procedure are similar to the problems of the conventional manual static testing procedure. Similarly, after the circuit board is manually tested for a long time, the tester may feel tired. Consequently, the electronic components may be repeatedly measured, or the contact probe may fail to be accurately contacted with the electronic components to result in erroneous judgment.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a cost-effective circuit board testing system without the manual measurement.